Disability Rights Activism in Kenya, 1959–1964: History from Below

2012 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 103-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fikru Negash Gebrekidan
Keyword(s):  
Social History ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Disability Rights ◽  
Great Expectations ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
Rehabilitation Programs ◽  
The Disabled ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Government ◽  
Historical Agency

Abstract:This article examines the early history of disability rights activism in Kenya. The transitional years from colonialism to independence were a period of great expectations. For persons with disabilities in particular, decolonization held additional possibilities and potential. National independence promised not just majority rule but also an all-inclusive citizenship and the commitment to social justice. Among the visually impaired of Kenya, such collective aspirations led to the birth of the Kenya Union of the Blind in 1959. In 1964, after years of futile correspondence with government officials, the Union organized a street march to the prime minister's office to attract attention to its grievances. The result was a government panel, the Mwendwa Committee for the Care and Rehabilitation of the Disabled, whose published report became the blueprint for social and rehabilitation programs. The government possessed limited resources, and the reforms that ensued were long overdue. Yet the sociohistorical dynamics behind the march are of particular significance. From the social historian's point of view, they affirm not only the historical agency of persons with disabilities, but also the need to recast and broaden the scope of African social history.

Ratifikasi Konvensyen Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu terhadap Hak Orang Kurang Upaya: Implikasi dan Realiti dari Dimensi Perundangan dan Kesamarataan

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 297-319
Author(s):  
Norita Azmi ◽  
◽  
Salawati Mat Basir
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Minority Group ◽  
Disabled Persons ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
Legal Provisions ◽  
Federal Constitution ◽  
Norms And Values ◽  
The Disabled ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Right

Issues related to the disabled right in the country continue to attract criticism and debate, as implementation is very slow and weak. The disabled have the right to live like other normal people, which includes protection in times of danger and emergency. One of the important mechanism for the care of the disabled is through legal means. The government has signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) as part of its efforts to empower and protect this minority group. As such, the government has taken the initiative to enact the Persons with Disabilities Act 2008 and ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in 2010 as one of the government’s commitments in complying with international human rights conventions as long these do not against the Federal Constitution. This article aims to uncover and analyse the legal provisions in Malaysia relating to the disabled and their right to live, as stated in the Federal Constitution and relevant legal provisions. In essence, this shows that Malaysia, as a member of the UN, is bound to adopt international laws and treaties on human rights if these do not violate local norms and values. At the end of the discussion, some ideas are presented as solutions for the government to improve the issue of disabled persons so that in the eyes of the world, Malaysia will be recognized as one of the countries that cares for and defends its disabled, in line with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2008.

scholarly journals Disability Rights in Botswana: Perspectives of Individuals With Disabilities

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-56
Author(s):  
Sourav Mukhopadhyay ◽  
Emmanuel Moswela
Keyword(s):  
Service Providers ◽  
Disability Rights ◽  
Individuals With Disabilities ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
Information Barriers ◽  
Transport Barriers ◽  
United Nations Convention ◽  
The Government ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Access Services

Even though the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities (UN-CRPD) 2006 has been in existence for the last 10 years, the Government of Botswana has not ratified the convention. As a result, individuals with disabilities (IWDs) fail to access services and are at the mercy of the service providers. This qualitative study involved in-depth interviews with 30 IWDs about their experiences related to disability rights. Analysis of the data indicated that IWDs face several challenges in exercising their basic rights; these challenges being (a) stigmatization, (b) infrastructural barriers, (c) transport barriers, and (d) information barriers. Findings suggested that awareness of disability rights among IWDs, caregivers, and the general public was generally low. As a result, many IWDs were not aware of their rights and therefore could not exercise their rights fully.

Dissent and Catholicism in English Society: A Study of Warwickshire, 1660-1720

1976 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith J. Hurwich
Keyword(s):  
Social History ◽  
Civil Wars ◽  
Social Background ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Religious Movement ◽  
Practical Point ◽  
Quantitative Studies ◽  
The Social ◽  
English Society ◽  
History Of

Puritanism has long fascinated students of the relationship between religion and society. Indeed, the social history of Puritanism has probably been studied more intensively than that of any other religious movement in modern history. However, most studies of Puritanism in England end either at the beginning of the Civil Wars or at the Restoration. The history of those Puritans who became Dissenters after 1660 has been left to denominational historians, who are understandably more concerned with the ecclesiastical and theological history of their own particular groups than with the broader question of the place of Dissent in English society.This neglect of post-Restoration Nonconformity is unfortunate for the study of the social history of Puritanism, both from a theoretical and from a practical point of view. When English Puritans are cited as the classical practitioners of the “Protestant ethic,” reference is often made to the success of Nonconformists in finance and industry after 1660. Tawney's application of the Weber thesis to England relies heavily on the writings of such post-Restoration divines as Baxter and Steele, and on the rise of Nonconformist capitalists in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Tawney's hypotheses cannot be evaluated unless we have more information about the social background of Dissent: not merely a few exceptional individuals, but the group as a whole. From the practical point of view, quantitative studies of the social structure — both of the religious group and of the larger society—are more easily undertaken for the period after 1660 than for the period before that date.

scholarly journals Theories and Methods for a Social History of Historical Events — A Reply to Hermann Rebel

2001 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 383-418
Author(s):  
Andreas Suter
Keyword(s):  
Social History ◽  
Slow Motion ◽  
The United States ◽  
Human Action ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Cultural Dimension ◽  
Theoretical Point ◽  
Historical Events ◽  
Mary Douglas ◽  
History Of

My study of the Swiss Peasants' War of 1653 has received four reviews in the United States. I am grateful to Hermann Rebel for supplying another, most unusual review to Central European History. It is unusual not only in length but also in judgment. Where the other reviews wrote positively about the book, Rebel rejects it completely.If I read Rebel correctly, his criticism covers four main points. First, he criticizes the book's theoretical point of view, alleging that the call for a “return to historical events in social history” means a return to “histoire événementielle” and would lead to “high antiquarianism.” Second, Rebel criticizes my methodological inferences from this theoretical point: systematic attention to the cultural dimension of human action; the expansion of social history's traditional methods of analysis and perspectives on time (longue durée, temps sociale) to include cultural and anthropological insights (from, i.e., Victor Turner, Mary Douglas, and Clifford Geertz); and the introduction of a “slow-motion” perspective.

scholarly journals Modern Strategies of Modelling Informational and Analytical Support of Inclusive Higher Education in Russia

2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 161-168
Author(s):  
N.V. Karpushkina
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Inclusive Education ◽  
Ministry Of Education ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
The Disabled ◽  
Strong Motivation ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
The Government ◽  
Free Environment ◽  
Government Contract

The paper gives a description of modern approaches to the modelling of informational and analytical support of higher education in persons with disabilities. It proposes a model of such support depending on the type of disability and provides a detailed description of structure components of informational and analytical support. It is argued that the main areas of support of individuals with disabilities are the following: adaptational and orientating (pre-university); organizational and coordinative; psychological and educational; academic; sociocultural; medical and health-improving; vocational (postgraduate) etc. Each area is comprehensively defined. The paper reveals the principles underlying the modelling of informational and analytical support of higher inclusive education, such as: the principle of expanding and shaping a tolerant ‘barrier-free’ environment; the principle of subjectivity and socialization; the principle of strong motivation and activity; the principle of dialogue; the principle of variation; and, finally, the principle of informational openness. This work was carried out with the support of the Government Contract of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation (project 2016- 01.04- 05- 020 – F- 35.001) “Monitoring and Informational/Analytical Support of Regional Resource Centers for Higher Education for the Disabled”.

scholarly journals Physician Assessment of Social Determinants of Health: A Necessary Component in Improving Care of Patients

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (S1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emaan Chaudry
Keyword(s):  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Social Determinants Of Health ◽  
Social History ◽  
Low Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Social Determinants ◽  
Determinants Of Health ◽  
Sexual History ◽  
History Of ◽  
Asking Questions ◽  
The Government

The importance of building a therapeutic relationship between a physician and a patient is taught early on in a medical student's training, specifically through the practice of obtaining a patient history. This process consists of gathering information in four main categories: the history of the present illness, personal social history, past medical history, and family history. Each piece of information obtained within these categories is vital in ensuring a patient receives appropriate and effective care. Specifically, a social history consists of asking about a patient's relationship status, support system, home environment, interests, exercise, nutritional habits, substance use, and sexual history. To complete a successful and full social history, one should try to address the social determinants of health. As per the Government of Canada’s website, social determinants of health “refer to a specific group of social and economic factors within the broader determinants of health. These relate to an individual’s place in society such as income, education or employment” [1]. Consequently, a critical component of a complete social history interview should be investigating a patients socioeconomic status. Low socioeconomic status (LSES) has been found to play a role in incidence and susceptibility to a variety of health conditions. As such, I believe that screening for and asking questions pertaining to the socioeconomic status of a patient should be considered a vital and essential component of every patient assessment.

scholarly journals Human Rights and Neoliberalism in Australian Welfare to Work Policy: Experiences and Perceptions of People with Disabilities and Disability Stakeholders

2014 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Parker Harris ◽  
Randall Owen ◽  
Karen R Fisher ◽  
Robert Gould
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
National Level ◽  
People With Disabilities ◽  
Welfare To Work ◽  
Disability Rights ◽  
Font Size ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
Accessible Information ◽  
The Government

<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 3pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 150%; tab-stops: 6.5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span>Recent policy approaches in Australia, influenced by neoliberalism, have constrained the implementation of international disability rights at the national level. Within the neoliberal and human rights approaches to social policy, what is the lived experience of people with disabilities? In focus groups with people with disabilities and interviews with disability stakeholders in Australia, participants were asked about their experiences and perspectives of welfare to work programs. We analyzed the data by drawing on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities as a framework. The analysis revealed tensions between the rights and responsibilities of citizens and the government, and a disconnection between policy discourse and policy practice. The results suggest that disability rights are jeopardized unless governments take responsibility to create the policy environment for rights-based policy to be implemented; including the equalization of opportunities, providing accessible information and communication about employment, and addressing the administration and process practices that employment service providers follow.</span></p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span>

‘One Can’t Help Shuddering at the Sight of the Ruin of This Thriving Town’: The Great Fire in Yeniseisk and Its Consequences. 1869-1870

2018 ◽  
pp. 483-494
Author(s):  
Natalia V. Gonina ◽  
◽  
Anna P. Dvoretskaya ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social History ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Krasnoyarsk Krai ◽  
External Resources ◽  
Irkutsk Region ◽  
Archival Documents ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Town

This archive draws on archival sources to study the Great Fire in Yeniseysk in 1869 and its consequences for development of this northern provincial town. The research derives its novelty from the first publication of documents of the State Archive of the Krasnoyarsk Krai and that of the Irkutsk Region, which describe measures of fire response and name benefactors. Historical approach allows to place specific patterns of local community in the context of social history of the 20th century. Anthropological approach allows to identify means and modes of surviving in a natural disaster. The fire clamed about 200 lives, destroyed all wooden buildings in the town, and disrupted daily activities of more than 7 thousand Yeniseysk citizens. At present, such disasters are considered as more than just local disasters. From the religious point of view, such natural disasters disrupt the balance and harmony of the God's world and require worldwide effort to set it to rights. The case-study of the Yeniseysk community concludes that actions of a person within the fire storm were determined not just by self-preservation, but also by responsibility for the lives of those around them. People appealed to church for help. Many Yeniseysk priests rose to the occasion as their vocation demanded. The archival documents show how rapidly the nation responded to the disaster. The case-study of Yeniseysk in 1869-1871 demonstrates an array of measures aiming to attract external resources. The activities were based on Christian principles of communal spirit and charity, community help and civic cooperation in joined efforts of state and public institutions, private and corporate donors. The article concludes that effective moneyed assistance and social support significantly decreased the severity of losses.

scholarly journals Implementation of the 2006 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Zimbabwe: A review

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cowen Dziva ◽  
Munatsi Shoko ◽  
Ellen F. Zvogbo
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
The State ◽  
Limited Resources ◽  
Disability Rights ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
Extant Literature ◽  
Research Institutes ◽  
Policies And Measures ◽  
The Government ◽  
Main Instrument

Background: The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities came into place in 2006, as the main instrument for advancing the human rights of persons with disabilities. For many African states, the Convention came amidst ubiquitous marginalisation and discrimination of persons with disabilities. As expected, the Convention has been hailed as a landmark in the struggle to reframe the needs and concerns of persons with disabilities.Objectives: This article reviews the implementation of the Convention by the Zimbabwean government.Method: The study relies on reviews of extant literature on disability rights. Reviewed documents include the Convention, constitution and other related national laws, policies and measures pertaining to disability rights.Results: This article lauds the state for promulgating a disability-friendly constitution that resembles the Convention to effectuate a human rights approach to disability issues. Relatedly, the state came up with institutions that collaborate with research institutes and disability organisations to conduct research, provide services to persons with disabilities, raise awareness and advocacy and litigate for disability rights.Conclusion: In spite of these efforts, this article shows that Zimbabwe has yet to close the gap on the ideals of the Convention, mainly because of limited resources amongst state-funded institutions for advancing disability issues. The government of Zimbabwe is challenged to domesticate all provisions of the Convention and to provide resources to institutions for progressive realisation of the rights of persons with disabilities.

A Catalog of the National Archives of the Liberian Government

1976 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 193-202
Author(s):  
Tom W. Shick
Keyword(s):  
Social History ◽  
Full Range ◽  
Foreign Affairs ◽  
Administrative Authority ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
National Archives ◽  
Archival Documents ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact

In the course of my research into the social history of nineteenth century immigrants to Liberia from America, I had the occasion to consult the Liberian Archives in Monrovia. Although the focus of my own research was limited in scope, I was exposed to the full range of materials available in this repository. In 1966, Svend Holsoe was instrumental in helping to organize the archival documents, and he prepared a catalog listing of the same. The present effort should be considered a “second edition” of Holsoe's original work, which only circulated privately. Wherever possible I have additionally tried to include some idea of the extent of each volume or bundle by noting page content where known or estimating the number of pieces included in each bundle. The need for this new listing has arisen from the impact of the course of time on the collection. Over the period of almost a decade since Professor Holsoe's catalog was prepared, factors such as climate conditions and reorganization efforts necessitated by space limitations have altered the content of the collection considerably.The government archival material comes under the administrative authority of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It has been organized and housed in a separate facility directly across from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Ashmun Street in Monrovia. Mr. Augustine D. Jallah is the Director of Archives and the person immediately responsible for the care of the documents. Permission to use the material must be received directly from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

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